UCF to launch improved registration website

UCF announced improvements Friday in its registration website, three days after the revelation that a student had been punished for trying to help fellow classmates enroll in classes.

Theschool's site will be enhanced to put students on a waiting list and then automatically register the first student into the class. It will notify the student by email and text message and move to the next student in line.

The free system will be ready in September for students who want to register for classes inthe spring term of 2013, officials said.

UCFdrew national news media attention Tuesday after it came to light that Tim Arnold, a senior marketing major, was put on probation for three semesters in late Julyfor creating a website called UCouldFinish.com.

Arnold, 22, of Jupiter, appealed. School officials on Friday sent him a letter stating they had reduced his probation by a semester, Arnold said. He plans to graduate in May.

His site plugged into the school's registration server through a public portal, allowed students to search for classes and sent a text message when a class became available. That notification is something the school's official online-registration site currently does notdo.

The service searched the servers for free but charged students a starting fee of 99 cents for the text feature, Arnold said. The cost could increase to as much as $3.99 to search more often.

Arnold did not ask the school for permission before launching his website. UCF spokesman Grant Heston said school officials blocked the site because it disrupted computer systems and conflicted with university policy.

School officials put Arnold on probation, ordered him to write two research papers about the error of his ways and to pay for a $15 counseling session.

Heston said officials had been working on updating the online myUCF registration system "for some time." He said the university would invite Arnoldand others to work on its enhanced website.

"Suffice to say we are happy to talk to the student website developer and anyone else who has ideas about how to make UCF more efficient," Heston said.

But Arnold said UCF officials have not contacted him.

"I do find it interesting that they cite my situation in all this, but they have never reached out to me," Arnold said. "The only communication I've ever had with them was the disciplinary hearing."

Arnold said he was happy to see UCF improve the way students sign up for classes. For years, complaints about the registration process prompted the school's unofficial nickname of U Can't Finish.

"I have to say that I'm thrilled [UCF] is implementing a system efficiently, and they saw the need for it," Arnold said. "I'm honored I was the inspiration for making this happen."